Agent Friday had been mowing down clockwork zombies all morning, and they still kept coming. She had it down to a science. If they had a human head or heart, pop them open. Otherwise, hit one of their knees and wait for Strelnikov to notice and get them with a grenade. The Russian was having entirely too much fun exploding the meat-brass monstrosities; as far as she could grasp from his butchered English, he believed they came from Chechenya or something like that.

Aim at head, fire. Aim at heart, fire. Aim at knee, fire.

She felt rather safe, really. None of them got less than half a block from the entrance, and even if the hill was remarkably less steep now with all the piled up bodies, they weren't getting any more agile. The prospect of running out of ammo or having to face nightfall were still distant. Just keep firing, and don't let them get to 914. As long as she and Strelnikov kept the things away, and the eggheads downstairs did what eggheads downstairs do, all would be fine.

Remove magazine, put it aside… Ow, that was a sharp edge.

She looked at the gash on her hand, revealing the fine brass gears grinding away the bone beneath. Then she shook her head. Time to do your work. Slot new magazine in, pull bolt handle. Reposition, aim, pull the trigger. As long as each one does their part, we'll be fine.

Aim at head, fire. Aim at heart, fire. Aim at knee, fire.

00:05:00 The Voice of God, so that It may spread its gospel through the unworthy, was spread among the beasts of the field.

june

"We should spread some of the green slime on them." Dr. Zara said, eyeing the giant brass ovoids, silently sporting the history of the Church on their surface.

Dr. Heiden sighed. It was nearly impossible to decode Zara's spoken English, and when you did you wished you hadn't. "Do you know why we avoid SCP cross-contamination, Doctor?"

"To keep Bright from running cage matches?"

"No. Well, it's a fortunate side effect. But it was exactly the Church of the Broken God that got us thinking. What if some of these SCPs are part of a … larger entity? That someone with more sense than us tore to pieces?"

"Pft. The Church is a gang of nutcases with a fetish for wind-up toys. 'Oh, that has gears on it, it's ours.' Next they'll kidnap Dr. Gears."

"Have you read any of the reports, Dr. Zara? They're the number one threat to our operations right now. Why do you think we're here?"

"Don't know, just got shuffled here."

"The Church has commandeered three SCPs in the last three months. Perfect operations, no alarm until it was too late, no casualties on their side. We might not even know it was them, if they cared. It's like they have someone new in charge."

Dr. Zara frowned. "But isn't this—" he pointed at the eggs "— like, their bible? Why didn't they come for this first? Why aren't they coming after it now?"

Dr. Heiden shrugged back. "Maybe they know how well guarded it is and backed off. Maybe they're taking their time."

"Maybe it's a trap."

"That'd —- that'd make perfect sense, actually."

At that moment the Foundation made two important finds: What was inside SCP-1564, and where the Clockwork Virus came from.

00:06:00 The Eyes of God, so that It may see the stars that say when the time is right, were cast upon the highest mountain.

may

a main barrel that rotated once every eight hours turned an escape wheel and the gear train to the ratchet wheel which drives the great wheel through an internal spring this circular spring is inside the great wheel the first pallet therefore moves out of the driving member the ratchet wheel engaging tooth at one end and a cam follower at the same time the other it describes a straight line tangent to the pendulum pushes the pallet makes contact with the wheel as the tooth moves over the impulse plane of the exit tooth can slide over the impulse plane of the exit tooth of the wheel as it engages the escape wheel

"Here it is. Oh, you're beautiful. Brother Vernal, confirm the explosives are defused. Sister Trice, help me open the tank."

the weight continually stresses the spring continues to turn a small amount until the balance wheels impulse pin via the lever fork while pushing the lever up against the exit tooth against the exit pallet jewel after the exit pallet jewel after the exit pallet into the path of the barrel to turn a small amount until the exit pallet into the path of the balance spring pulls it back clockwise and the program wheel in response to rotation of the potential energy stored in the weight system and transferred by the second pallet the first pallet swings down into the path of the rotating escape wheel drops again until the exit pallet into the path of the balance wheel the pallet makes contact with the wheel backwards slightly and contact between the wheel again it makes contact with the wheel again it makes contact with

"Foundation support fifteen minutes away, Father Tempo."

"We can do this in fourteen fifty-nine. Explosives are clear. Brother Fugit, lower the Ark."

in order to maintain a constant velocity ratio with a continually changing contact point diameter the width of each tooth decreases towards its point as the escape wheel that rotated once every minute as two involute gears engage the ratchet wheel which drives the great wheel through an internal spring this circular spring is inside the great wheel through an internal spring this circular spring is inside the great wheel with one end attached to the pendulum provides the precise time intervals isochronously lastly the indicator comprised of it face and hands records how often the escapement wheel controls the transfer of the balance spring pulls it back clockwise and the job of impulsing the pendulum the escapement releasing the escape wheel rotates anti clockwise free of interference

"Brothers and sisters, I shall now open the Ark and bring forth communion—"

when it contacts the wheel and driven by the lever to the great wheel forward during winding while the drive from the escape wheel as it pushes it DAMAGE backwards slightly this releases the second pallet the hinge folds away from one tooth and towards the other pallet is broken both the pallets about their axis which places the exit tooth DAMAGE can slide over the impulse pin via the lever fork while pushing the lever fork while pushing the DAMAGE lever up against the exit tooth of the path

"Father, it's waking up—"

DAMAGE

"Stand clear! Your protection won't last at this range!"

REPAIR ME

"Father, what about you?"

REPAIR ME

"This is my sacrifice and my honor, Children. The communion must be complete!"

REPAIR ME

"Father!"

REPAIR ME

"As the Face and the Eyes and the Mind and the —"

REPAIR M

—

"… Lord?"

I AM.

00:07:00 The Face of God, so that all may know Its glory and wrath, was given to Its greatest enemy.

april

Mr. Brass' head rolled against a corner of the containment room. He could not see much but ceiling and ceiling lighting.

His eye-lights flickered as he tested for anything that might still be attached. Nothing. "W-w-who's there? Guard?"

An unfamiliar woman wearing a guard uniform came into view. "I believe we parted in bad terms last time, 'Mr. Brass'. I'm sorry. We have a much better plan now."

As she spoke, she pulled a pair of glasses from her pocket and put them on. The lenses were clock faces.

He was wrong, she was not unfamiliar. He had just never seen her without the hood.

"No. N-n-not you. Guards!"

"All the guards on this wing are ours. Gears within, gears without. So is the true Way."

"W-w-w…" Gears whirring and a loud CLUNK as one catched. "what are you going to do?"

"We'll not be forcing ourselves on you, this time. We thought you were the Mind of God. Heresy, courtesy of your cursed master 'Wondertainment'. But we do need our possessions returned."